In this new age of easy contact it is too easy to not really make contact. A person can manage many relationships with others, and feel pretty fulfilled. I don’t think it’s that way for a lot of others – including their contacts. These contacts feel rejected very easily, get lost, lose hope, and often wander into poor ideology. Perhaps that is what is fueling so much violence on the planet.

I can imagine that a relatively immature young person with a feeling of loss could easily find organized, armed struggle as an outlet for their loss of hope. They can have a religious zealot pushing them, get together with real people, and get directed and motivated toward violent ends. They are like zombies really. They have a purpose that’s not really theirs. They would rather have hope, work or study, have a place to call home, and have a close relationship with someone they care for.

Somehow I believe our current technological advancement is creating this huge sense of loss and being lost. Too much promise or hopes that are dashed without a second thought. There is no recourse. People give up until the bad elements find them, and soon enough they are directing their very real anger at the rest of us.

How do we turn this situation around? Society is becoming more cold and heartless in this regard with social networking. I don’t think it is on purpose or even that we are conscious of this cold and heartless behavior. We think of the positive contact and not the easy, cold shut off. Your emotions and feelings are activated, and “Bam!” they are shut down by someone – not gently like with true human contact. They are not able to see that you care.

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Read, interact, think and create.

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Make sure you take care of the essentials even as you help others -

Get enough sleep

Eat right

Exercise plenty

Keep in touch with loved ones

Be ready to vote

Vote for people that want to make the world better especially for the disadvantaged, and not for people that want to make things harder for all but the wealthy

Tortoise Castle in the Mojave Desert near Las Vegas, NV by DA Jones, April 2014

There are seemingly endless opponents in life. There is rivalry and there is spite. People make themselves enemies for the most trivial of reasons. They criticize and get jealous instead of applauding. It can seem that way – really.

Well, the fact is you are making an impact, and a positive one if you like. Just keep going. Don’t give up. Don’t be afraid. Fear is the mind killer someone wrote. At least get past your fears. You are good. You are great. Your good work will be recognized as such in ways that you might not imagine.

It does take work – work in the sense that you must do something. Take the risk. Work. Sure you need to work at basic needs things, but work at what you love, too. Find the time without hurting yourself or anyone. Ask people kindly for some space when you need it. Work towards getting to work more at what you love. Do it all kindly.

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Some good advice I heard: read or do, pause, reflect, and connect.

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It’s not wrong to be cautious or untrusting. In fact, it is best to be that way. Only let people in carefully. Make them earn your trust. It takes time and effort, but have them verify that they are destined to be in your life. They should only be in your life if they want to make it better – enhancing you. Bullying, using and controlling behaviors are not going to make your life better. Those behaviors consume others. Don’t be consumed. Live your life. There is time enough for love. Don’t force it.

Life throws you some tough stuff at times, but you should really know how amazing you are. Just keep moving forward.

I can see you are making progress in your life. It hasn’t always been easy for you to say the least, but you have come a long way. You are where you are. You have the options you have. I know that you have a lot to offer, and there is no telling how valuable your contributions will be. They will be valuable.

You are amazing. That there is no doubt. People get beat up in life and easily forget how wonderful and spectacular they are. Of course you can get better, learn more, be more effective and find better ways to contribute. However, remind yourself that you are truly amazing and you will be even more effective.

Be good as well. No one is going to be perfect no matter how hard they try. Realize that trying your best is more than good enough. It will be necessary to make adjustments at times as some things don’t go as planned. There will always be problems to solve and opportunities to make things better and better. Just keep trying.

Yes, the world can be better. And, you make it better. It wouldn’t be the world without you. It might not feel like you are succeeding, but most likely you are. You will be even more successful if you but try. No matter where you have been or what you have done, try now to do your best doing good. That’s all that is expected of the truly amazing entity that is you.

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Find something you like to read, and create something, too.

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Get involved in your government today. Only you can make it better (for you and yours). And, vote “yes” on the Boeing contract. You can change your mind later . . .